Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate will be the net gain in social housing from the planned route for HS2.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: For Phase One the Government has committed to work with local authorities, housing associations, tenants and other key stakeholders in order to ensure that lost social rented housing is replaced in a manner sympathetic to local needs and reflective of the strategic approach to social housing driven by local authorities. Naturally the approach adopted for Phase One will inform that for Phase Two.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Crimes against Humanity

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether North Korea is seen as a priority country by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the light of the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding wide-ranging and ongoing crimes against humanity in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has long been, and continues to be, a priority country for our global work on human rights and regional stability. The UK strongly supported the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and we continue to press the North Korean regime to make tangible progress on improving its appalling human rights record. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), recently discussed DPRK and Human Rights with Ambassador Robert King, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, and Danny Russel, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US State Department.

Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what conditions they would refer an incident or a series of incidents of suspected mass killings or alleged human rights abuses to the UN Security Council for a determination on whether genocide was occurring as defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government believes that recognition of genocides should be a matter for international courts, not political bodies. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by international judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible international judicial process.

Iraq: Islamic State

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7332), what financial assistance they have given to human rights defenders in Iraq to improve victim support and case documentation of sexual violence committed by Daesh.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has provided over £800,000 of financial support for gender equality and tackling sexual violence in conflict - £750,000 to help implement Iraq’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and over £65,000 to the Iraqi Al-Amal Association to support their work with young people.Furthermore, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding a project (£199,000) through our Human Rights and Democracy Programme which aims to improve the documentation of Sexual Violence in Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Zakho and to assist in the development of cases. The project is training a team of human rights defenders to document Sexual Violence and establishes a database of cases across a two year period to inform policy development in the Government of Iraq.

Iraq: Islamic State

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7332), what assessment they have made of the documentation work undertaken by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s committee on genocide and committee on mass graves.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not carried out an assessment of any documentation work undertaken by the Kurdistan Regional Government committees on genocide and mass graves. However, we are working with our partners in the international community to find further ways to support the gathering of evidence which could be used by courts to hold Daesh to account.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Young Offenders: Literacy

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many young offenders in prison have been recorded as improving their standard of literacy during their sentence in each of the last five years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Table 1 shows the number of offender learners aged 18 to 21 that undertook and achieved a learning aim in English from 2010/11 to 2014/15 in prisons in England. Table 1: Offender Learners aged 18 to 21 – English Achievements (2011/12 to 2014/15) – Learner Volumes 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15 English Achievements3,0003,1001,7002,2002,000 Notes:  1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record. 3) Offender learners are defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system. These offenders were funded via the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget. 4) Age is reported as at 31 August of the academic year.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect negotiations between the EU and the US will conclude a new EU–US Trade Agreement.

Lord Price: The twelfth round of negotiations for the EU-US Free Trade Agreement – also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – took place in February. We are making progress and our ambition remains to reach a political agreement during the Obama presidency.

Students: Fees and Charges

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what penalties are in place for higher education institutions that knowingly accept UK student fee status for students who hold British passports, but whose parents have not paid tax in the UK for past five years, and whose education is shown to have taken place overseas.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: Higher education institutions have discretion to charge a student who is not eligible for home fee status whatever fee they deem appropriate, including the same fee as they charge students who have home fee status.The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates funding to HE institutions, to cover some of the teaching costs of students who are eligible for home fees status and studying high cost subjects. The Council monitors the student number data of all institutions, to ensure they receive only the funding to which they are entitled. HEFCE has powers to withhold funding from any institution which has received funding for which it is not eligible.Student Finance England is responsible for assessing students’ eligibility for financial support. It can only award support to students who satisfy the eligibility criteria in full. The fee a student is paying is not considered in this assessment.

Science

Lord Watson of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the concerns highlighted by Fellows of the Royal Society and Cambridge academics about the impact on science if the UK were to leave the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid, on 11 April (HC Deb, col 50) on the steel industry that they are "looking at the possibility of co-investing with a buyer on commercial terms", what co-investment means in that context, and in particular whether it would include (1) readiness to facilitate loan, grant and equity finance, (2) shared temporary or longer-term ownership, (3) funding assistance for pension and other liabilities, or (4) some other means of providing support for sustaining the future of the steelmaking and finishing industry in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Co-investment means offers of Government support on commercial terms. Examples of where private investment and public support have worked effectively include the Green Investment Bank and the British Business Bank. The formal process for the sale of Tata Steel’s remaining UK assets commenced on 11 April and we do not yet know what support any potential investor might require. The Government will consider all options to see steel making continue, and stands ready to engage with commercial investors on a package of support, on commercial terms, to help ensure the long term future of our steel industry.That is why on 21 April, the Government announced that a package of support worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be made available to potential buyers on commercial terms to support the ongoing operation and deliver long term investment in the future of the business. We will also consider support in other areas such as plant, pensions and power supply, and any other areas that potential buyers believe the Governments can provide support.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Buildings

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost and headcount implications of moving the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London by 2018, as indicated in BIS2020 Finance and Headcount.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government does not comment on leaked documents.

Department for International Development

Africa: EU Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision to offer a £100 million aid package which will be implemented under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa set up to tackle instability and the causes of migration.

Baroness Verma: Migration within and from Africa is a major development issue. It needs to be addressed in part by tackling instability and the root causes of migration. At the Valletta Summit the European Union agreed a new €1.8 billion Trust Fund focussing on four main areas linked to development priorities identified by the host governments in Africa: i) promoting greater economic and employment opportunities; ii) strengthening resilience of communities and in particular the most vulnerable, as well as refugees and displaced people iii) improved migration management in countries of origin and transit; and, iv) improved governance and conflict prevention, and reduction of forced displacement and irregular migration.The Trust Fund is composed of three windows, one for the Horn of Africa, one for the Sahel and one for North Africa. The proposed work of the Trust Fund complements DFID’s own approach in these regions. The UK is represented by DFID on each of the EU Trust Fund window’s Operating Committees and on the overall board of the Trust Fund. DFID, the FCO and Home Office officials work as one team to coordinate engagement with EU Trust Fund. The UK is playing a full role in shaping the Trust Fund’s strategy and we work hard to ensure that the funding is well spent and that proposed projects deliver maximum value for money.

Bangladesh: Drinking Water

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of Human Rights Watch in its recent report Nepotism and Neglect, which identifies the failure of the authorities in Bangladesh to respond to the effects of arsenic in the drinking water of Bangladesh’s rural poor; and whether they will raise that issue with the government of Bangladesh.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government along with other donors, discusses issues such as safe drinking water with members of the Government of Bangladesh. Water quality testing, which focussed upon arsenic, has been a major part of DFID’s support for ensuring access to clean arsenic free water in rural Bangladesh. DFID has also supported arsenic testing by assisting the Government of Bangladesh to establish a national water-point database. The UK works with the Government of Bangladesh to use the database to identify water points which exceed the arsenic national standard can be identified and corrective necessary action taken.DFID has also delivered large scale results on water, sanitation and hygiene education through our strategic partnership with BRAC. This has given 699,000 people access to clean drinking water, including in arsenic prone areas, through deep tube wells, piped water supply systems and pond sand filters to over the last 5 years.

Bangladesh: Working Conditions

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of Bangladesh about toxic, insanitary and unsafe working conditions in Hazaribagh, Dhaka.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government’s work around conditions in the leather industry in Bangladesh focuses on the issue of child labour. We support efforts in this particular area through the Manusher Johnno Foundation (MJF). MJF have campaigned successfully to include “Leather Works” on the Government of Bangladesh’s list of hazardous works for children. As a consequence, employers in the leather industry are now bound by a Code of Conduct which is aligned with the domestic Labour Law and National Child Labour Elimination Policy.

Iraq: Humanitarian Aid

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 1 April (HL7307), what steps they are taking with their international allies and partners to redress the financial shortfall in humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

Baroness Verma: The UK monitors levels of humanitarian assistance in Iraq extremely closely. In our work with both the Government of Iraq and international donors, we continue to stress the importance of providing sufficient funding to respond to urgent needs across Iraq. We also work closely with others donors, NGOs, the UN and international financial institutions to ensure that commitments made are effectively spent, and targeted towards those in the greatest need.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how closely they monitor the weekly UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs statistics of death, injuries and house demolitions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and what conclusions they have drawn from those statistics.

Baroness Verma: We follow all briefings and updates from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs closely, and are greatly concerned with the deteriorating humanitarian situation across the occupied Palestinian territories. We raise these concerns regularly with the Government of Israel and development partners, and continue to call for the lifting of movement and access restrictions.

Gaza: Power Stations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the action being taken, and by whom, to prevent life-threatening consequences arising from the closure of the Gaza power plant.

Baroness Verma: According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the closure of the Gaza power plant has triggered electricity blackouts of 12-18 hours per day. The electricity shortage, combined with the lack of affordable fuel, has resulted in a further reduction in the water supply to households and reduction in wastewater treatment and quality of sewerage discharged into the sea.We are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the EU and UN, on the extension of the 161 power line and conversion of the Gaza power station to gas.

Gaza: Power Stations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the closure of the Gaza power station in April, what assessment they have made of whether an electricity generating ship is still available as an alternative supplier to Gaza.

Baroness Verma: We are concerned by the electricity shortage in Gaza and the serious impact it is having on the humanitarian situation. We are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the European Union and UN, on the extension of the 161 power line and conversion of the Gaza power station to gas. The UK believes these are the immediate steps necessary to improving the situation in Gaza, however a more comprehensive lifting of restrictions as part of a political agreement is the only long-term solution.

Department for Education

Schools: Finance

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what modelling they have done to establish the scale of gains and losses that are likely to result from the introduction of the National Funding Formula for schools.

Lord Nash: On 7 March, we published our first consultation on a national funding formula for schools and high needs. It outlined the principles of the funding system and the funding factors that we believe should define the formula.The detailed design of the national funding formula – and therefore its impact on local authorities and schools – will only be finalised once we have had the opportunity to thoroughly consider all responses to our first consultation, which closed on 17 April. We intend to set out those proposals and the impacts of the proposed formula on local authorities and schools in a second stage consultation later this year. We are thinking carefully about how the transition to new funding levels can be managed and will set out further detail on this in the second consultation.

Ministry of Justice

Young Offenders: Sports

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hours on average a young offender in prison spent playing competitive sport in each of the last five years.

Lord Faulks: National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not require establishments to report the average time young offenders (18-20 year olds) spend playing competitive sport. Figures for the average hours of PE for 18-20 year olds in Young Offender Institutions for the years 2010/11 and 2011/12 are provided in the table below. These have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Table: Average hours per young offender per week spent in physical education - YOIs (18-20 year olds) Year2010/112011/12YOI (18-20) average hours per prisoner per week spent in physical education3.43.3

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Drugs

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long the washout time is for meldonium and whether UK Anti-Doping consider that an athlete who took meldonium when it was not considered a performance-enhancing drug and not on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list before January could have still tested positive in January, February or March.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There is currently limited data available on excretion studies relating to meldonium and, as such, several studies are currently being conducted involving WADA accredited laboratories, which WADA will share when available. UK Anti-Doping is following the guidance of the World Anti-Doping Agency who recently issued a Notice regarding meldonium.

Merchant Navy Day: Flags

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the flying of the Red Ensign on Merchant Navy Day on 3 September will be added to the list of mandatory days for flag flying in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The designated days for flying the Union Flag on Government buildings have been specifically set to mark special occasions by command of Her Majesty the Queen and on the advice of Government. Any additions or changes must be discussed with the Lord Chamberlain's Office. There are currently no plans to change the list.However, as flag flying is deregulated, any organisation may fly any flag at any time, so long as they have the necessary planning permission, therefore anyone may fly the Red Ensign on this day if they wish.

Battle of Jutland: Flags

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will encourage the flying of the White Ensign from public and private buildings to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Jutland on 31 May.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Any organisation may fly any flag at any time so long as they have the necessary planning permission. Public and Private buildings are free to fly the White Ensign to commemorate the Battle of Jutland if they wish.

Department for Work and Pensions

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the publication in SLEEP on 1 February of the epidemiological study into the association between the 2009 pandemic H1N1 vaccine and narcolepsy in adults (Pub Med identifier 26856903), whether the Department for Work and Pensions will now reverse its decisions to refuse applications for compensation for adults under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 on the grounds of a lack of evidence of causation, and if not, on what basis they continue to dispute causation for adults.

Baroness Altmann: All claims under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are decided on the basis of each claimant’s individual circumstances, and in light of the latest scientific evidence on the possible effects of vaccines. The Department monitors research in this area. We are aware of the latest evidence and are studying it carefully. Where new evidence comes to light which suggests that an earlier decision was incorrect, the claimant may ask the Department to look at its decision again within the statutory time limits.

Occupational Pensions: Fraud

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Governmenthow they plan to protect people against fraud as they are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, in the light of the recent cuts to the pensions watchdog.

Baroness Altmann: The resources allocated to the Pensions Regulator to cover its regulatory responsibilities, together with those for automatic enrolment compliance activity, increased by £3.4m to £79.5m for the financial year 2016/17. Schemes that can be used by employers to meet their automatic enrolment duties are subject to specific quality requirements. The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority both play an active role in monitoring schemes used for automatic enrolment to ensure that they meet these standards. The Pensions Regulator has also published a list of independently audited ‘master trusts’ pension schemes that employers may wish to use for automatic enrolment. Both Regulators carry out targeted activity to investigate and mitigate risks, including indicators of possible fraud.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Training

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost, per successfully trained recruit, of (1) Phase One and Two training at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, (2) Phase One training at the Army Training Centre Pirbright, and (3) Phase One training at the Army Foundation College Harrogate, including trainee salaries and associated costs, in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Earl Howe: The total cost per successfully trained recruit for financial year 2014-15 is shown below. These costs include trainee salaries as well as other associated costs such as equipment, permanent staff and infrastructure costs.  Infantry Training Centre CatterickPhase 1 and 2£56,000Army Training Centre PirbrightPhase 1£33,000Army Foundation College HarrogatePhase 1 - Junior Entry Long Course (205 days)£90,000Phase 1 - Junior Entry Short Course (100 days)£38,000

Defence Sixth Form College

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual operating cost of the Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College.

Earl Howe: The annual operating cost for the Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College for academic year 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016 is £14,532,603.

Type 26 Frigates

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the planned life of the new T26 frigates.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 15 September 2015 to Question HL1943.



HL1943 - QnA extract on T26 Frigates
(Word Document, 14.22 KB)

HM Treasury

Sugar: Taxation

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Treasury is working with the Department of Health on the implementation of the sugar levy, and if so, how.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: There are ongoing discussions between HM Treasury and the Department of Health on the implementation of the soft drinks industry levy.

Fruit Juices

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the associated health benefits of some sweetened fruit juices, and of the impact of the sugar levy on sweetened fruit juices with such associated health benefits.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The new soft drinks industry levy does not target pure fruit juices where no sugar is added. Fruit juices are part of the 5-a-day message as they have intrinsic nutrients and other health benefits. Juice drinks with added sugar are in the scope of the levy because they can be reformulated and/or sweetened with less caloric sweeteners providing the same vitamins and health benefits without the added sugar.

London Stock Exchange: Deutsche Borse

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they will take to ensure that arrangements for post-trade collateral management consequent on the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse does not increase risks to financial stability.

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they have taken, if any, to ensure that the proposed cross-margining arrangements between Eurex and LCH do not subordinate counter-parties in the latter in the event of a failure of Eurex.

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, in the event of the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse, LCH and Eurex will have a regulator in common, and if so, whether that regulator will be the Financial Conduct Authority.

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the proposed takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse gives rise to issues of national importance.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: I refer the noble Lord to the investor relations section of the London Stock Exchange Group website, which contains information about the proposed merger, including some information on the combined group’s proposed structure. I also refer the noble Lord to my previous written answer HL7153. Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint. In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders. European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) sets out detailed standards on the quality of collateral that a central counterparty (CCP) can accept, and includes a general requirement that the CCP can demonstrate to its supervisor that the form of collateral in question does not present unmanageable risk to the CCP. Furthermore, CCPs are permitted under EMIR to invest their collateral “only in cash or in highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market and credit risk.” Any proposals for inter-CCP links would need to be assessed against relevant parts of EMIR by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH. EMIR requires that models used to set CCP margin requirements (and any changes to them) are validated by the CCP’s supervisor. EMIR also requires that a CCP wishing to extend its business to additional products or services must obtain the authorisation of its supervisor.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 7 April (HL7284), what was the initial budget agreed for the advertising campaign for the Married Couple's Allowance.

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 7 April (HL7283), how many people have taken up the Married Couple's Allowance in each (1) Parliamentary constituency, and (2) local authority area.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs’ plans for advertising Marriage Allowance evolved over time. HMRC does not hold data on the number of customers that have applied for Marriage Allowance by Local Authority or Parliamentary Constituency.

Embassies: Home Country Nationals

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tools are available to the Inland Revenue to ensure that local employees at foreign embassies in London pay their tax, apart from individuals voluntarily registering for Self Assessment.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs have a specialist team to deal with the tax affairs of locally engaged staff employed at foreign embassies and International organisations in the UK. The team is tasked with ensuring that these employees pay the appropriate tax and National Insurance.

Cabinet Office

Acts: Publishing

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the comment by the Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock MP, reported in The Daily Telegraph on 15 February, whether the Cabinet Office has allocated money to pay for Acts of Parliament to continue to be printed on vellum; if so, whether an offer so to pay has been made to the parliamentary authorities; and if such an offer has been made, in what terms that offer was made.

Lord Bridges of Headley: I refer the Noble Lord to the statement by my Hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 20 April 2016. This is available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-04-20/debates/584554e7-fb8f-44d6-8df0-8b3af8476d1e/CommonsChamberAs my Hon Friend made clear during the debate the printing of Acts onto vellum is a matter for Parliament. The Government is keen to work with the House authorities to explore all avenues for continuing to print on vellum [in line with the will of the House of Commons.]



Hansard Extract from the Debate
(Word Document, 73.06 KB)

Charities: Lobbying

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings or other communications took place between Cabinet Office ministers and Mr Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs relating to government funding of voluntary organisations in the twelve months prior to the announcement on 6 February of the new clause in grant agreements restricting the use of government grants for lobbying purposes.

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings or other communications took place between Cabinet Office officials and Mr Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs relating to government funding of voluntary organisations in the twelve months prior to the announcement on 6 February of the new clause in grant agreements restricting the use of government grants for lobbying purposes.

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings or other communications took place between Mr Sheridan Westlake, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Mr Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs relating to government funding of voluntary organisations in the 12 months prior to the announcement on 6 February of the new clause in grant agreements restricting the use of government grants for lobbying purposes.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Institute of Economic Affairs' written research into the misuse of government grants was acknowledged at the time that the clause was first introduced by the Department of Communities and Local Government before the last general election, and also by the Cabinet Office when it published its guidance on the new clause.Details of Cabinet Office Ministers' meetings, and those of the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretaries, are centrally collated and routinely published in transparency returns available on the Gov.uk website.Information relating to the meetings and communications of Cabinet Office civil servants, including special advisers, is not routinely collated and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Charities

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that donations to the Jewish National Fund are tax deductible, and that one of its primary activities has been the creation of forests over disputed Palestinian land, what action they are taking to rescind the charitable status of organisations that are for the benefit of one group at the expense of another.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Jewish National Fund is not a charity. The Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales having exclusively charitable purposes. Under s34 of the Charities Act 2011, the Commission must remove a charity from the register if it no longer considers the organisation to be a charity or if it has ceased to exist or does not operate. None of these criteria apply to this charity. Any concern regarding the charitable status of an organisation is a matter for the Commission.Taxation is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs who do not comment on individual cases.

Social Mobility

Lord Livermore: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they consider to be the most accurate way of measuring social mobility in the UK.

Lord Bridges of Headley: There is currently no commonly agreed measure for socio-economic background for employers in the UK. As committed to in our Talent Action Plan 2016, we are working with a number of major employers and organisations promoting social mobility to create new national common measures for determining socio-economic background of applicants and workforces. This will help to boost social mobility in workplaces across the UK, in both the public and private sectors.

Department of Health

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL7118) and the letter from the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to both Lord Alton of Liverpool and the Department of Health on 7 March, whether there are any reasons why a full copy of the comments by peer reviewers and responses by the person responsible that have been provided privately have not yet been made publicly available; if so, what those reasons are; and if not, whether they will place those documents in the Library of the House, and when.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It was our intention to place a copy of all the documents provided to the noble Lord by the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in the Library but an administrative error occurred in arranging this. I apologise for this error. The remaining document is now attached. 



HFEA Peer Reviewer Comments
(PDF Document, 5.99 MB)

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL6930 and HL6954), how the patient information and consent forms originally submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) explicitly described the process of genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9; whether such previously licensed research has now commenced; if so, when the HFEA received evidence of ethics approval; and what have been the reasons for the further delay in commencing such research in the light of previous complaints about delays by the person responsible in her correspondence to the HFEA dated 15 December 2015 and 12 January 2016.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the original patient information is part of the information presented to the Licence Committee and this was sent to the noble Lord on 7 March 2016. The research involving gene editing has not yet started. The HFEA is awaiting final confirmation that the changes to the patient information and consent forms requested by the research ethics committee have been made.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for Health will conduct an assessment of the potential effects of the recent increase in patient charges for NHS dental services in England on people's ability and inclination regularly to visit a dentist.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department published an Impact Assessment which considered the impact of uplifting patient dental charges by 5% in 2016/17 and 2017/18, a copy of which is attached. We considered that the impact of increasing patient dental charges will mainly affect those of working age, for whom a proportionate increase to their charges is considered reasonable. Those on low incomes and other protected groups will remain exempt. Those not entitled to exemption but on low incomes may also be eligible to receive help with health costs. We do not consider that the uplifts to patient charges for National Health Service dental services in England will have any significant impact on people’s ability and inclination to regularly visit a dentist.   



Impact Assessment Dental Charges
(PDF Document, 137.95 KB)

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue was raised from patient charges for NHS dental services in each of the last ten years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is able to provide data for patient charge revenue from 2006/07 to 2014/15. Data is not held by the HSCIC prior to this date. Data for 2015/16 will be published in August 2016. YearPatient Charge Revenue £2006/07475,413,0152007/08531,433,2542008/09571,728,2632009/10597,620,4822010/11614,270,5502011/12634,741,3512012/13657,636,4812013/14685,093,4932014/15714,185,948

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

Baroness Greengross: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 21 March (HL7044), why the current section 7a public health functions agreement does not include key deliverables for the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The 2016-17 Section 7A public health functions agreement specifies key deliverables in relation to new or changed programmes that are being introduced within 2016-17.   The provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013, is reflected in the relevant service specification for the existing pneumococcal immunisation programme and within the document Immunisation against Infectious Diseases (‘the Green Book’). The Green Book is published on the GOV.UK website in an online only format.

Mental Health Services: Children

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to prevent mental health services from turning away children who seek help.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Children and young people’s mental health (CYPMH) is a priority area for this Government. It is committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in mind, the previous Government’s report on the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce. This report established a clear and powerful consensus about change across the whole system, including health, social care and education. To support this transformation programme the Government is committed to making an additional £1.4 billion available over the course of this Parliament. As a first step in this transformation programme all clinical commissioning groups working with their partners, have developed Local Transformation Plans to transform their offer for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues: from prevention and improving access, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services.   Whilst the intention is to prevent mental health problems from arising in the first place, improving access for those who have developed problems as early as possible is essential. By 2020, at least 70,000 more children and young people each year will have access to high quality mental health care when they need it. This will require systems for rapid identification of children in need of specialised services, and improved links between different agencies so that children and young people are referred to the most appropriate service. £28 million is being spent on extending and expanding the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme so that by 2018 all children and young people across England will have access to evidence-based and appropriate interventions. The Government has also invested nearly £3 million into the Mental Health Services and Schools Links Pilots to jointly train designated leads in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and schools to improve access to mental health services for children and young people. This should reduce the number of children being turned away from services and lead to the ‘no wrong door’ approach that is integral to the transformation programme.

NHS: Drugs

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the database created by the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act 2016 is intended to supersede the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s hierarchy for the use of unlicensed medicines.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The database will not supersede the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) guidance on the hierarchy for the use of unlicensed medicines, which is set out in the MHRA’s ‘Guidance Note 14’. The Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act 2016 seeks to facilitate access to innovative medical treatments including the off-label use of medicines and the use of unlicensed medicines, such as in schemes like the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS). The Act provides for the establishment of a database of innovative medical treatments, which doctors can access to search for innovative treatments in schemes like the EAMS, including unlicensed or off-label medicines for which there is evidence that a patient might benefit. Where appropriate they can also search for clinical trials that are underway and discuss their findings with their patients to establish if they would benefit from being part of a clinical trial. There will be a full consultation on the database in due course.   



MHRA Guidance Note 14
(PDF Document, 356.14 KB)

Health Services: Cambridgeshire

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the gateway reviews undertaken during the work on the Uniting Care Partnership Contract in the light of the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that following its initial independent review into the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and Uniting Care Partnership LLP, it is commissioning a second review to investigate specific areas in further detail. This will include an investigation into the effectiveness of the gateway review process. NHS England advises that the scope and timescale for this has yet to be agreed and it will consider publication as part of this review.

Strategic Projects Team

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask NHS England to disband the Special Projects Team in the light of the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Uniting Care Partnership Contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is commissioning follow up investigations into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and Uniting Care Partnership LLP. It will look at the role of all of the contract advisors, including the special projects team, in more detail.

Strategic Projects Team

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employees of (1) NHS England, and (2) Arden GEM Commissioning Support Unit, were seconded to the Special Projects Team in (a) 2014, and (b) 2015, and how many are currently seconded from each.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Special Projects Team (SPT) is a service hosted by Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU). In 2014 and 2015 the team had two full-time employees, one employed by NHS England, and then seconded to the CSU to work directly on SPT issues, and one person employed by the CSU (through the NHS Business Services Authority) working directly on SPT matters. This position continues at present.

NHS: Contracts

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list by name and contract value the contracts that are currently being reviewed in the light of the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Uniting Care Partnership contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This is a matter for NHS England. The Department understands that information on other contracts is in the process of being collated. NHS England advises that it will need to review this before making decisions about sharing any of this information.

Palliative Care: Staffordshire

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the review of the Staffordshire Transforming End of Life Care procurement, the patient consent and information governance aspects will be considered, including the transfer of information about patients on the End of Life Care Registers to private companies, even if the patients themselves do not know they are on such a register.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This is a matter for NHS England, which is reviewing the cancer and end of life service procurement in Staffordshire in the light of its review of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and UnitingCare Partnership (UCP). NHS England advises that issues around information governance and patient consent were not included within the scope of the original review into the termination of the UCP contract with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG and currently are not included within the scope of any follow-up investigations.

Health Services: Warwickshire

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group is going ahead with its proposals to tender out its £227 million Out of Hospital Programme in the light of (1) the review of such contracts that is being conducted following the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Uniting Care Partnership Contract, and (2) the criticism by the local acute Foundation Trust of that process.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that it is reviewing how this type of contract is assured. We understand that South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s procurement has been placed on hold until the appropriate assurance is in place.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to procure independent advice for whistleblowers in the NHS, in the light of the recommendation in the Freedom to Speak Up report by Sir Robert Francis.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a 'Freedom to Speak up Guardian' who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture. The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review. In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to establish a new whistleblowing reporting line for NHS professionals who wish to report abuse, neglect or safeguarding concerns.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a 'Freedom to Speak up Guardian' who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture. There are a number of routes for NHS staff to report a suspected or known wrongdoing, either to their employer or to a prescribed person including their professional body, or the Care Quality Commission (CQC). All whistleblowing concerns raised with the CQC are forwarded to the local inspector for consideration. This allows the CQC to identify problems or concerns in local services that it may need to act upon.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will retender the existing NHS Whistleblowing Helpline; and if so, on what basis, and when.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a 'Freedom to Speak up Guardian' who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture. The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review. In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis the contract for the existing NHS Whistleblowing Helpline has been extended, and whether they plan to further extend that contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a 'Freedom to Speak up Guardian' who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture. The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review. In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence the Department of Health has on the effectiveness of the existing NHS Whistleblowing Helpline.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a 'Freedom to Speak up Guardian' who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture. The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review. In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

Out-patients: Attendance

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many post-surgery follow-up appointments were missed by patients in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. Did not attend rates for outpatient appointments in England are collected by NHS England in the Quarterly Activity Return. This data distinguishes between first and follow-up appointments but does not distinguish between types of appointments, so it is not possible to identify how many missed appointments relate to post-surgery.